


Summer

by starshipslytherin



Series: Regulus Black and the Unruly Offspring [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, But only a little, Dad Regulus, Everybody Lives, Fluff, Gen, Regulus Black Lives, also a little bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:26:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26756488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starshipslytherin/pseuds/starshipslytherin
Summary: Regulus takes his three-year-old daughter on a stroll through London. Unfortunately for him, the child won't stop asking questions.
Relationships: Regulus Black & Child OC
Series: Regulus Black and the Unruly Offspring [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949074
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39





	Summer

**Author's Note:**

> This is even more self indulgent than the one-shot to which it is a sidepiece. It's fluff. It's my baby Regulus with a baby of his own. Enjoy!

At this time of year, the streets of London were crawling with muggles dressed in ugly patterned shirts, beige shorts, white socks and leather sandals. They chattered in foreign languages, took hundreds of photographs of buildings, and kept stepping on the poor feet of one Regulus Arcturus Black, who was only trying to navigate his own city. Safe passage, clearly, would have been too much to ask for.

A burly blonde muggle in a coffee-stained, yellow shirt took a step back in order to get a better angle at the River Thames, for some reason, bumping into Regulus, who nearly stumbled. The man turned to see what had happened; he saw Regulus and regarded him dumbly. Regulus cast the muggle a sour glare as he and his camera trotted away without a word.

Adrestia, a silent passenger in Regulus's arms, made a face. Regulus agreed with her.

"So, where would you like to go?", he asked her as they were slowly advancing down the street and through the crowds. "Playground? Children's zoo?"

Adrestia pouted. "I'm not a child. I want to go to the adults' zoo."

"There's no such thing as an adults' zoo," Regulus told her. 

The girl's little face scrunched up a bit as she seemed to sink into deep thought. 

"Can we have ice cream?", she asked eventually.

Regulus suppressed a sigh as he minded the fact that each ice cream parlour within a mile would most likely be absolutely packed with hordes and hordes of muggle travellers. Then, he considered his experiences in dealing with his daughter's temper when she was denied sweets, and he decided the muggles would by far be the preferable option.

He spotted a small stand that appeared to be quite popular. As he was standing in line, he put Adrestia down and would have let her wander a little, but she seemed to prefer hugging his legs, which he took no issue with; at least this way, she would not get lost.

When it was their turn, Adrestia took ages picking a flavour. She demanded to inspect each one and did so carefully, until she decided she wanted to try "the blue one". Regulus would have normally discouraged her given he had no idea what supernatural forces could have made the ice cream blue - in fact, it was a very bright, unnaturally radiant blue - but he was just glad she had finally made a pick. Thankfully, the vendor appeared amused; Regulus supposed that his little daughter was indeed quite adorable.

He paid for the ice cream in one of the colourful pieces of parchment that muggles used for currency, and received three in return. He had learnt this could sometimes happen, and stopped openly questioning it, even though it still confused him at times.

He decided to take Adrestia to the park, where he figured they'd be able to sit and enjoy their ice cream, but halfway there, Adrestia, who had insisted she could walk on her own, suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, then erupted into a shrill, blood-curdling scream that Regulus was certain could be perceived across the entire city of London.

She was holding an empty cone, and on the walkway in front of her sat a bright blue ball of ice cream, bleeding into the paving.

Adrestia could not be convinced to take Regulus's ice cream instead, or to accept a replacement from any vendor other than the one they had just come from, and so, Regulus begrudgingly took her hand and walked her back. By the time they arrived, he had finished his own ice cream.

At the sight of Adrestia's tears and her empty cone, the vendor took pity on her and made her new portion extra large, which cheered the child up considerably.

Regulus insisted on carrying the ice cream himself until they arrived at the park, subtly casting a temporary freezing charm on it to prevent it running down his hand. He made a mental note to feed Adrestia a large plate of vegetables for dinner.

The two of them found a lovely little bench in the shade of a large elm tree. Regulus watched Adrestia as she was eagerly licking her blue ice-cream, her little legs dangling over the edge of the bench, and he felt a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

His mind began to wander. He felt at peace; during the busy hours of the afternoon, this park was nearly empty, muggle travellers swarming past it and towards Big Ben. The trees seemed to filter out the noise that the muggles' many automobiles produced, and the air tasted crisp and clean. His life, now, felt nothing like what he had known growing up; it felt free and full of possibility, and all that served as a reminder was his fading dark mark, it's contours slightly visible, but blurred through the thin fabric of his white, silken summer shirt.

"Daddy?", Adrestia's little voice piped up after a while.

Regulus turned to her. Her face was half covered in bright blue goo, just like her robes and hands.

"Yes?", he inquired, half distracted as he was looking around to see if any muggles were near that might bear witness to his sneakily casting a cleaning spell on her, which was not the case.

She puffed out her freshly clean cheeks, and pressed them together with her palms. 

"Where do the adults go when the children go to the children's zoo?", she whispered solemnly. "Do the children have to go all alone? What if they're babies who can't walk on their own yet?"

Regulus smiled. "Adults aren't forbidden from entering the children's zoo," he explained.

"Then why's it called a children's zoo?"

"Well, I - I would assume perhaps because it's made mainly for children to enjoy."

Adrestia considered this for a little, and seemed to accept his answer. Then, she shuffled a little closer to Regulus and snuggled up to his side. He wrapped an arm around her little shoulders, and even though she could not seem to sit still, he enjoyed the cuddle.

"Daddy?"

He turned his head towards her, meeting her large, curious eyes.

"What's that on your arm?"

She pointed at the mark.

Regulus's stomach twisted slightly; he had hoped the day she asked about it would come later rather than sooner, because he had sworn himself not to lie to her about it. A promise he did intend to keep.

"It's - the last remnant of my dark past."

"Why?"

Regulus failed to comprehend what exactly her "why" was supposed to be referring to, but he continued nonetheless. "It's the symbol of something evil that I've put behind me."

"Is that why you always wear long sleeves?"

Regulus sighed. "I suppose it could be."

"Why is that thing evil?"

"The mark itself isn't evil. Only its meaning."

"So why don't you just wash it off?"

"No one can wash it off. It's permanent, I'm afraid."

"Is it magic?"

"Yes."

"And you're going to have it forever?"

"Yes."

She tilted her head. "Who drawed it?"

Regulus snorted, suddenly amused. " _What_?"

"Who _drawed_ it?"

"It's not a drawing, it's a dark spell. The one who performed that spell was You-Know-Who."

Adrestia stared at him with wide black eyes. "You-Know-Who drawed this?", she whispered, half in awe, half in horror.

Regulus decided to let the drawing part go. "Yes. You-Know-Who drew this."

She regarded him as though he had gone insane. "Why did you let You-Know-Who draw on your arm?"

Regulus pressed his lips together, considering his answer. "So - you know how I told you my parents were wrong about a lot of things?"

She nodded her head.

"One of those things they were wrong about was the idea that wizards were worth more than muggles. You-Know-Who had that same idea, only he was willing to actually hurt muggles over it."

"But wizards are better!", Adrestia protested. "We have magic!"

"Well - yes, we do. But that doesn't make us better. In fact, Muggles come up with many clever ways to make up for their lack of magic. - My point is, wizards aren't better than muggles, just a little different. And we don't have the right to hurt muggles because we think we're better than them, don't you think?"

Again, she nodded her head, looking deep in thought. She seemed to ponder his answer for a little.

"Did your parents want to hurt muggles, too?", she whispered.

"I'm not sure. I don't think they did, but they didn't mind others doing it. They even supported others doing it. - Now, when I was younger, and my parents wanted me to join You-Know-Who, I wasn't brave enough to say no, and so, I joined him. He gave everyone who joined him this same mark, as a symbol that we were his followers."

"Why didn't you just leave if you didn't like it there?"

Regulus huffed. "You-Know-Who didn't just let people leave. If I'd tried, he would have been really mad at me."

"How mad?"

"He would have found me and tried to hurt me."

Her bottom lip quivered, and she wrapped her tiny arms tightly around his waist. "I don't like You-Know-Who."

Regulus smiled and hugged her back. "Well, he's gone now. There's nothing to worry about."

She sniffed and nodded her head. 

Regulus inhaled deeply, reminding himself that the past was behind him now. It became difficult, sometimes, to really believe it. At times it felt as though a small part of him still lived trapped between Grimmauld Place and the Death Eaters, with no way out. For now, he had to accept this, and hope that one day, that old wound might at least stop bleeding.

He started drawing soothing circles on Adrestia's back, and kissed the top of her head. For the moment, she was all he had.

"Would you like to go to the adults' zoo?", he asked her after a while.


End file.
